Excursions questions

[OceanCruise]

We are considering booking our first Ponant cruise (Sicily). For the Smithsonian Journeys cruises free included excursions, approximately how many different excursion options are generally available for each port? Are there always both an active and more sedentary options? How many people are on the tours, i.e. shuttle van or coach bus? Are the tours geared mostly toward archeology/ruins or are there also options for other types of tours such as food tours or visits to places where classic movies were filmed? What types of tours are extra cost? I know it probably depends on the exact tour, but what is a general price range for extra cost tours and are these typically private or smaller groups?

[TouchstoneFeste]

I can answer a few of these. We'll be taking a Ponant/Smithsonian tour from Malta to Livorno (that is, up the western coast of Italy) in September with daily port calls. Our tour options were announced in early April; they're not yet available for sign-up.

 

The number of excursions varies, but only one port has just two options; the rest have 3-5 choices.

 

None of our excursions seem on the high end of the activity scale. Frequent mention of "uneven terrain", but even the trips up Mounts Etna and Vesuvius appear to be coach-based with just one to two miles of walking. There's a "flat" tour available at each port. None are strictly sedentary, though.

 

Each port has at least one food-oriented choice, sometimes more. This is advertised as a foodie tour with a celebrity chef onboard, so we may have more food-oriented excursions than normal. Even so, a lot of the excursions are archeology/museum oriented or mixed (for example, the Mt. Etna visit includes a stop at a winery). No classic movie locations tours :)

 

There is no extra cost for any excursion. With the Smithsonian partnership, all tours are included in the base price.

[TouchstoneFeste]

(dope slapping myself)

Most of the information above, and much more detail, can be seen at

https://us.ponant.com/the-mediterranean-ancient-wonders-and-culinary-delights-cruising-southern-italy-and-sicily-with-smithsonian-journeys-eg080924-12

Click on Itinerary.

There are also pre- and post-cruise extensions offered. We found them both to be uninviting - they seem overpriced and flawed. The Malta one is a single overnight with one tour; we'll stay in a very nice room at the same hotel for three nights and do multiple tours around Valletta and the island - for approximately the price of the extension. The Florence hotel appears to be very nice, but it's 20 miles away from the central attractions, meaning independent exploration would be difficult.

Obviously, your cruise will have different pre- and post- options, but I'd be careful.

I can't find info about them on the Ponant site, but you can get some detail on Smithsonian's:

https://www.smithsonianjourneys.org/tours/ancient-wonders-and-culinary-delights/details/

[TouchstoneFeste]

And finally ... Based on previous Smithsonian trips (but no Ponant/Smithsonian ones), I'd guess the passengers will all be parcellled into bundles of 20-30 people - sized for coaches. We've never encountered any options for more "private" tours, but of course you would be at liberty to book from independent providers at each port. When overwhelmed by days of trudging through dusty beige ruins, we've sometimes taken beach days on our own or wandered a port independently.

[OceanCruise]

1 hour ago, TouchstoneFeste said:

I can answer a few of these. We'll be taking a Ponant/Smithsonian tour from Malta to Livorno (that is, up the western coast of Italy) in September with daily port calls. Our tour options were announced in early April; they're not yet available for sign-up.

 

The number of excursions varies, but only one port has just two options; the rest have 3-5 choices.

 

None of our excursions seem on the high end of the activity scale. Frequent mention of "uneven terrain", but even the trips up Mounts Etna and Vesuvius appear to be coach-based with just one to two miles of walking. There's a "flat" tour available at each port. None are strictly sedentary, though.

 

Each port has at least one food-oriented choice, sometimes more. This is advertised as a foodie tour with a celebrity chef onboard, so we may have more food-oriented excursions than normal. Even so, a lot of the excursions are archeology/museum oriented or mixed (for example, the Mt. Etna visit includes a stop at a winery). No classic movie locations tours 🙂

 

There is no extra cost for any excursion. With the Smithsonian partnership, all tours are included in the base price.

Thank you for the helpful info. Please do a review after your cruise. 

[TouchstoneFeste]

On 5/4/2024 at 7:00 AM, TouchstoneFeste said:

I can answer a few of these. We'll be taking a Ponant/Smithsonian tour from Malta to Livorno (that is, up the western coast of Italy) in September with daily port calls. Our tour options were announced in early April; they're not yet available for sign-up.

 

To finish off the pre-cruise portion of the discussion: We just received a notification that the excursions are now available for booking. In Ponant's generic booking instructions, I think they say 60 days before departure would be normal for excursion booking, but we're over 100 days out at this point. This may vary depending on your Cruise Specialist.